State attorneys group thanks student

Scott Wood, left, receives a plaque from Wisconsin District Attorneys Association board president David O’Leary.

The Wisconsin District Attorneys Association presented a plaque to La Follette School student Scott Wood April 10 to recognize his contributions to the interests of justice and public safety in Wisconsin.

Wood did an analysis of Wisconsin ADA staffing that found the staff level to be at a 10-year low, with 335.15 full-time equivalent positions. Turnover averaged 11.7 percent from 2005 to 2014, hitting a 10-year high of 14 percent in 2014, Wood found, using Wisconsin Department of Administration employment data.

Milwaukee County assistant district attorney Peter Tempelis, a 2006 La Follette School alum, tapped Wood on behalf of the Wisconsin District Attorneys Association to do the analysis after working with him on another project. He and his sister Mindy Tempelis, a 2002 La Follette School alum, are on the association's executive board. Mindy Tempelis is deputy district attorney for Outagamie County in Appleton. Peter Tempelis cited Wood's work in an article published March 6 in Wisconsin Lawyer, a State Bar of Wisconsin publication.

"Scott's analysis is helping WDAA's efforts of accurately and effectively informing policymakers in Madison regarding the ADA staffing crisis throughout the state," WDAA President David O'Leary said in March. "We appreciate Scott's work and service on behalf of justice and public safety."

"Scott represents the very best of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and his work, the living embodiment of the Wisconsin Idea in action," Tempelis said in March. "Thank you to La Follette for their research and service on behalf of the university and the public."

"I am grateful to the WDAA for the opportunity to use my La Follette School training to inform people about the challenges Wisconsin faces in attracting and retaining quality assistant district attorneys," Wood says.